Trading in shares of China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Ltd, China's largest private shipbuilder, was suspended on Thursday in the wake of media reports that said it had laid off 8,000 workers in recent months.

The company, suffering from a downturn in the global shipping industry as well as China's own economic slowdown, said it had sought the suspension pending clarification of news articles, according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

No further details were available and China Rongsheng declined to comment, but analysts said the company's balance sheet was under pressure. On Wednesday, its shares closed down 10 percent at HK$1.06 ($0.17).

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said the job cuts represented some 40 percent of the firm's workforce. The cuts sparked protests by workers earlier this week, according to media reports.

A company executive told the WSJ the layoffs were not a sign of financial distress but the result of a restructuring aimed at making more specialized vessels used in the offshore oil and gas industry.

China Rongsheng is a major supplier of bulk carriers that ship iron ore from producer nations such as Brazil to China.

"We expect a continuing deterioration in the balance sheet given weak overall demand growth for bulk vessels, Rongsheng's core product," Barclays analyst Jon Windham said in a report.

According to its December 2012 annual report, issued on March 26, China Rongsheng's cash and cash equivalents fell to 2.1 billion yuan ($342.53 million) from 6.3 billion yuan a year ago.